Clockwise Doom
Clockwise Doom is the 5th chapter of Jun Mochizuki's Pandora Hearts. Synopsis A scene within Oz's memory opens. He is huddled on a chair, looking down and sad. Gil comes over and asks if something happened, to which Oz answers by asking him why does his father hate him. Gil doesn't know either, so he suggests to go ask him. Quickly, Oz says no and slaps Gil's offered hands away. He wouldn't do it, "'cos I'm...frightened of the truth." The scene returns back to the present day in the city. Oz is sitting by himself when a little girl comes over to him, asking if he would like to buy a flower. He does and then she asks if he is from around here. He says no and that he is looking for someone, but one of his companions got lost, so "Papa" (Raven) went looking for her. A bitter Raven comes back at that exact moment with a disgruntled Alice. The flower girl is about to go when Oz stops her and puts the flower on her hair, flirting with her openly, much to Raven's frustration. The girl goes on her way cheerily. Bitterly, Raven criticizes Alice for delaying them by getting lost, but she argues she wasn't lost, she was left behind, a comment to which Raven only got more angry at. As the two argue, Oz remembers why they were out in the city: a little while back, in the Rainsworth mansion, he said that the mansion where he had his coming-of-age ceremony must have something to do with Alice's memory as he did found the pocketwatch there. Break used this opportunity to send Oz and Alice on a mission: he knew that the deaths in a nearby city were caused by an Illegal Contractor, so he wanted them to apprehend the criminal as it was en route to the mansion. Skeptical, Alice demanded why they would have to take a detour when she wanted to look for her memories. Break assured her that a memory could be there, and Oz followed up by saying because the watch had a memory and was connected to the Abyss, the Chain came out and attacked them. "So we can't ignore the possibility that your memories might be in places where Chains exist, right?" Oz said lightly. Reluctantly, Alice agreed to it, demanding that the others not drag her down in her mission, to which Raven argued that she couldn't even fight on her own, sparking an argument between them. Break spoke to Oz while the two fought and advised him to not trust Alice too much, reasoning that she may not be on their side and she was maybe hiding something from them. With a calm smile, Oz said that everyone here is an example of not being trustworthy, as Break and Sharon were hiding more things from him than Alice was. Rather than rebuke him, Break merely smiled and sent Raven along to the mission as well to watch Oz and Alice carefully. Back to the present in the city, Raven and Alice are still agruing. Looking at Raven's golden irises and black hair, Oz can't help but think of Gil, and he wonders if he is doing okay. Later that night, they stay at a hotel. Raven reasons that they couldn't go looking for the contractor as it's too late and dark out. Alice, ever impatient, wants to get closer to the mansion as quickly as possible to continue looking for clues to her memories. Oz interrupts and asks Raven why Illegal Contractors want to kill people and what there is to gain by making Contracts with Chains. Oz points out that Alice asked for his permission to Contract, so they weren't forced upon. "To be able to change the past," Raven answers solemnly. Chains proposed that idea. Raven doesn't know if it's true, but Contractors got devoured by the Chain in order to get that power, killing people over and over until one revolution was made on the Incuse. Upon Oz's confusion, Raven explains that the Incuse is a seal that appears on the chest of those who illegally contract a Chain, and points out that there is one on Oz. The seal is a clock showing the Contractor's "time limit". The needle will move, making a seal again in the needle's wake, then when the needle reaches the top again... Raven stops his explanation at that, and Oz asks what would happen. They then notice that Alice is sleeping. Raven gets up and puts on his coat, explaining that he will be gathering information even if it means that he does not get any sleep. He merely states to Oz, "You want to get to the mansion as fast as possible, don't you?" Out in the darkness of an alleyway, a Chain is shown devouring a woman. It murmurs that it needs more strength, but is running out of time. Suddenly, it senses a greater power somwhere; it might be enough to buy him time. Walking down the deserted city street, Raven asks why Oz is following him since they are leaving Alice by herself. Oz reasons that it will be okay as he locked the door and left her a note that reads that he and Raven are having a loooong bathroom break. Oz laughs at Raven's reaction and says that he is a lot nicer than he appears, since he was worrying about Alice. Raven becomes thoughtfully silent and then asks Oz how he could be able to laugh so freely with everything that is happening to him. With a smile, Oz replies that he is able to adapt into anything, and believes that it is better to enjoy the present then grieve the past. He admits that he's also curious about who Alice is. "Once, I let something important slip by without trying to find out the truth, 'cos I was scared of getting hurt," Oz explains. "So when I see Alice trying her best to look for her memories, it brings me back to the past...and it kind of makes me not want to leave her alone... And I find her dazzling." Raven looks solemn again and asks Oz if this was why he was trying to find out the truth now, because he regretted having once feared it? At the hotel, the Chain and it's Illegal Contractor are closing in on Alice and she awakes with a start. Raven is still talking to Oz, reminding the blond of the fact that he wanted to know what his sin was. When Oz lightly argues that he just didn't want to cause problems, Raven takes off his hat and assures him that no matter the reason, Oz is trying to find out the truth. "You've changed since then," he says with a faraway look. Oz stares at him, suddenly reminded of Gilbert again when a big blast came from the direction of their hotel. Alice is at the scene and was able to dodge the blast. The Chain goes on attacking and she contiunes to dodge it when she notices the seal on it's Contractor's chest is about to make a full revolution. is dragged into the Abyss]] Back at the Rainsworth mansion, Sharon holds up a photograph and tells Break about what he is doing is cruel, because he intentionally didn't give them the picture of the Contractor's Incuse. Break argues that Raven would not allow Oz on the mission if he knew. He wonders if they've already found her time was almost up. Alice runs into Oz, but they have little time to talk as the chain attacks them. It's then that Oz sees the Contractor - it's the flower girl they saw that morning. Shocked by this, Oz steps toward her and asks why, but Raven holds him back for the seal's needle had made its revolution now. "This is my way of being nice," Break says at the Rainsworth mansion. "The sooner they face reality, the better." Black streams of wind surround the girl suddenly, and she screams as she is dragged in the ground. In a horrible whirlwind, she is gone. Oz numbly stares, confused and shocked. Break says that Oz has three paths to choose on. One: if the Incuse is to make its revolution then he would be devoured into the darkness. Two: if he continued to seek the truth about his sin, there might be a way to save him. "And third. If you find the answer to ''that ''question, perhaps I..." Break pauses and says that what waits at the end of Oz's journey may not be hope. Characters in order of appearance *Raven *Alice *Flower Girl's Chain *Sharon Rainsworth *Xerxes Break }} Terms Trivia *This chapter marks the first time that Oz witnesses what happens when the needle of the Incuse goes around once: the Contractor being dragged down to the Abyss. *This chapter also presents the first confirmations that there is large tension in the relationship between Oz and his father. Navigation Category:Manga